In aftermath of Florida shooting, protesters gather in Asheville for gun safety rally

A crowd gathered in downtown Asheville Sunday afternoon for an Everytown for Gun Safety rally held in the aftermath of the deadly school shooting in Parkland, Florida.

Alex Davis, a speaker at the rally, attended Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School where the shooting happened last week.

Davis said the name Stoneman Douglas brought back only memories of friends and marching bands--until the tragedy.

"You see this horrifying scene in our small town, where nobody, nobody knew about Parkland until now," Davis said.

After the shooting, Davis says he wants Stoneman Douglas to be connected with common-sense gun reform.

"I want Stoneman Douglas high school to be remembered as the tipping point,” Davis said, “the straw that broke the camel's back."

Rally attendees held signs while volunteers walked around helping others register to vote, or join a non-partisan national group called Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.

Moms Demand Action volunteer Jean Sutton said common-sense reform means calling on lawmakers from both sides of the aisle. "Bullets don't have Democrat or Republican written on them, when they kill people," Sutton said.

Sutton wants lawmakers to tighten background checks for gun purchases. "That's a big one for us," she said.

Sutton said gun reform might help prevent tragedies like the one that keep students, like Lily Carroll and Sophia Brown living in fear.